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Re: ANW 13


Vegas Night 2

So we saw the remainder of Stage 1 and the start of stage 2.

Stage 1 didn't have any real shocks other than a few unexpected fails on the final obstacle and Meagan Martin's obstacle 1 fail. We did also see a lot more success than I though after last week's episode and so ended up with 27 clears in all - including a certain Jesse Labreck and the remainder of my winner picks. I have to mention Jake Murray here - he ran the course like an absolute madman and cleared in a minute and a half, nearly half the time was left on the clock. Predictions so far going well it seems. Not much more to say on top of what I said last week - my views on the obstacles haven't really changed.

Most of the episode focused on Stage 1 so we didn't see loads of Stage 2. It had a complete redesign this year, well, the obstacles at least - the course structure itself was very similar:

Striding Steps - A much faster start than usual, I've been wanting a lower body start to Stage 2 for a while so nice to see it working well. The obstacle itself is simplistic but probably about 3 times the length of any balance obstacle we've seen on the show.

NEW Double Salmon Ladder - I feel like this modification is one pretty much everyone thought of when thinking of a DSL replacement. Simple in design but the cradle without the back adds a new element of difficulty to an otherwise stale obstacle.

V-Formation - Really confused as to why they had a bar sloping down to the Triangle thing up that seemed like it only appeared in qualifiers to get people up to the actual V-Formation down... Yeah a lot of up and down for no reason - just have the end section with the V's, scrap the rest. Stage 2 works better as a speed stage after all.

Hammer Down - think they actually called it Hammer Drop now on the show, can't remember. Fun fact actually, apparently it was called The Bull originally - something very interesting considering a certain Mr Bull made a name for himself on the show for an upside down move. The obstacle itself seems good and the move in the first half is unique but it's a bit of a shame that the second half is very similar to the Swing Surfer which we've already seen a lot of.

Air Surfer - was faster than I expected but still I think one of the weaker obstacles of the stage because it just doesn't belong in it.

Falling Shelves - First I want to brag: I've thought of putting this at the end of Stage 2 before. I thought of putting Walk the Plank and Snapback in their positions in Stage 2 before that happened as well. Admittedly I'm sure I'm far from the only one and it's not like I can take responsibility for the placement of obstacles that someone else designed but I'm just happy it worked - finally a good stage ender! The first time I've liked a Stage 2 ender since Wall Lift, its wannabe replacements missed the mark completely. I think if anything this obstacle shows that changing up the layout slightly CAN work.


Overall a faster course than I thought it would be which is good, still need to watch more to come to a final decision on this one.

As for the results so far it was all fails other than Vance's safety pass run - wasn't expecting him to fail the DSL I must say but just shows how unpredictable ninja is. Also it's his third main-event of the season, I think him not being at least LNS would be a shock at this point.

Interesting that Rayl and Moravsky are the only two left from the last Stage 3, admittedly a decent chunk of them aren't here through no fault of their own - not getting cast or getting removed due to covid - but still surprised there's only two left.

Overall another good episode, I hope the final episode also delivers to give season 13 something to remember it by after the awful qualifiers or forgettable semis.
8/Sep/21, 6:51 pm Link to this post    PM Takeshi1
 
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Re: ANW 13


Quote:

Messup434 wrote:

Man, I miss writing course reviews reading posts like those. I think I'll switch back to my old format of text reviews rather than my YouTube ones because it's a lot more efficient to my time and a lot less cumbersome!




Like with Stupid Sports, for example emoticon

8/Sep/21, 7:54 pm Link to this post    PM Takeshishouldbea Sumoguard
 
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Re: ANW 13


Season Finale:

Erm
14/Sep/21, 7:11 pm Link to this post    PM Takeshi1
 
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Re: ANW 13


Ok in all seriousness a mostly great episode - my problem is what came before. When you have 4 athletes on Stage 3 and 3/4 get fast-forwarded on Stage 1 something has gone wrong. When of those 3, 2 get fast-forwarded in the semis and the other gets a mid-cut out of necessity for the Power Tower, something has gone really wrong. And when 2 of them were also fast-forwarded in the heats something has gone very very wrong indeed. That thing is the editing.

They have no excuse, Vegas aired in May, everything had been filmed before any episode had aired. Yes Kaden, Austin and Kyle aren't the show's biggest personalities but we need to see their runs for the audience to get to know them. We may as well have just watched the very last episode because all but one of the people who did really well were basically given their first proper introduction all season in the very last episode.

We all knew the editing is bad. This is shocking. We sat through all of the boring rubbish for it to mean nothing because everyone we watched bar one didn't even make Stage 3. Unbelievable.

Ok I'll go over the courses now. I discussed Stage 2 last time, back then I was still making up my mind, now I think it was really good and better than I expected. I still don't understand the point of everything between the Salmon Ladder and the V part of V-Formation but other than that this stage works. 4 clears is a bit lower than I expected - after last episode I was expecting about 6. The course provided some pretty big shocks along the way. Just nice to see a decent Stage 2. The only problem I had with the whole Stage 2 segment was the whole sob story about somebody who wasn't even running. It's not that I don't care about the person, it's just that they have nothing to do with my obstacle course show. I also want to praise a profile piece (crazy I know!); if you have to do a long profile piece, do it like Kyle Soderman's - detailing his background and how he was "doing ninja without realising" at a young age and then showing what he does now (stuntwork etc.) and tie that in to ninja too. Much better - wish we saw more of that. One last thing was when I realised they were showing Kaden last, that was the moment when I was like I think he's gonna be LNS. We'd seen how 2 glossed-over ninjas had made it to Stage 3 and it was clear from here he would too. If you've seen Kaden compete before, you know he can do a Stage 3 - I had no doubt what was about to happen at that point and couldn't quite believe how poor the editing was before this considering the only full run of his we saw was in heat 1 or 2 and that's it. Won't get over that and quite frankly shouldn't have to.

So Stage 3, I'm not listing the obstacles in as much detail because only 3 changed. Grip and Tip is a fine obstacle with a (really!) horrible name. I don't think this one will return again though - and although I like it when changes are made to course layout, one thing I wish they'd have brought back is the two back-to-back obstacles at the start of Stage 3 from earlier seasons. I just miss it that's all. Stalactites look nothing like the name, seems like the kind of thing you'd have in a ninja gym - was passable but not much more. Up For Grabs is a great choice - one of the most underrated obstacles of the modern era. I will say though the lighting on this was awful though - from the side profile, the bar blended in with the truss behind - after Vance's run they changed the camera angle to one in front of them catching the bar. Not a fan of the 11 Cliffhanger, and I think with the introduction of Stage 3-focused teens they could have brought back the previous incarnation had they wanted to. Pipe Dream looked much worse aesthetically this year and I hate that wobbly-wall cat grab they have before it - so unnecessary and not grip or endurance based. This is another point on this stage where I'm yearning for the return of a past obstacle. I miss the Curved Body Prop honestly. Obstacle 6 now, Eyeglass Alley, is almost exactly identical to one I came up with years back - not that I can take the credit here, living outside the US I didn't submit anything but still it's interesting seeing an increasing number of things I thought of actually appearing on the show. This one was fine but a bit aesthetically messy. Then it was the Flying Bar which didn't have its usual tension because a certain Kaden Lebsack was doing it. The Flying Bar has been a staple for so long but it wouldn't surprise me if they switch it out next time - it's still a great obstacle but the Americans are just too good and have practised it too much for it to serve any purpose other than ceremony at this point of the course.

Finally, Stage 4 and they just shoved the rope in front of the skills challenge - I wonder if they weren't expecting a winner so built it thinking it wouldn't need taking down or if this really was the plan all along. It ended in a fail which honestly is a good ending to a tournament and it's strange thinking about it that in 13 seasons they've never had this scenario before.

Overall a good episode which made the editing of the rest of the season look even more strange. At least I'll never have to re-watch the heats and semis again though.

Edited by Takeshi1, 15/Sep/21, 10:25 pm
15/Sep/21, 10:12 pm Link to this post    PM Takeshi1
 
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Re: ANW 13


Yes, their editing in previous episodes is really weird now. I had a lot of faith in Kaden early on this season as I've been steadily impressed by his Instagram page for a few years, but when he got cut twice in a row I figured he wouldn't do well later on. Vance was the only one I expected to make it there of the four.

It's really awkward because it made the finale feel really rushed as they introduced us to the other three who'd make it to Stage Three - and one beyond. Really weird, it's like they forgot until that episode who would do well.

I know I've wanted less predictable editing in the past so I appreciate this choice to an extent, but they need to give us something of each person. Soderman was cut everytime up until Stage Two!

Overall, I feel like Vegas had a few repeat obstacles that I really expected they'd remove - after both a Total Victory and a year of not having Vegas. Those obstacles include Tire Run, Grip & Tip (although that had thicker/shorter cylinders this time, right?) and Pipe Dream - they just don't seem like they deserve to be back to me. I would've kept Iron Summit and replaced Grip & Tip with the Stalactites. I do like those, they definitely seem like an ANW gym obstacle, but I think they bring in the Keylock Hang precision that we haven't seen in a bit - and it's just a creative idea.

I'm really glad Up For Grabs finally got a moment in the spotlight though it did look a bit weird with the angles used. Also, the jump up to the bars at the start of both Up For Grabs and Pipe Dream feels awkward!

I expected them to keep the Cliffhanger, but I'm sick of this type of arrangement. But did they make the ledges thinner? They kept saying "one inch thick" which they definitely weren't before in the American version. Props for that, if so.

Eyeglass Alley is an interesting idea, and I like it a lot. It feels kind of like the Baton Pass though in that it seems the producers found it to be too hard so took out some moves by adding a transition to a second eyeglass. Although maybe that was intended from the start as the final simultaneous lache was cool when Kaden did it. Either way, I do like this type of movement though it felt awkward for sure.

I feel like the Flying Bar is another Vegas staple to them, but honestly I think it's time for it to go. I want the Pipe Slider there - it's such a classic but has hardly appeared in ANW for some reason. Also, I want tension in the final dismount, which Flying Bar rarely has.

I was really hoping they work the Vertical Limit in to the stage this year, but I think they don't want to copy Sasuke obstacles directly anymore. But it definitely felt like they could use an eighth obstacle again. I like the course, but there are a few "time wasters" on it so there're only a couple of obstacles people are likely to fail. And Pipe Dream is way too late in the stage to be so leg-oriented.

It was honestly really nice to finally end things on a Stage Four fail, but I did feel bad for him. He has a similar technique to me where he doesn't really use legs (although he's still much faster than me!), but I think if he works on that he can get it, though it'll be pretty close. The Final Stage NEEDS an update though. It's a bit of an awkward time to do it now, but they should just go ahead with it anyway - it's been long enough.

All in all, about an average season, but an improvement from last year. The teenagers are definitely going to keep being a thing, and I do like them, but hopefully next year they're not so focused on them in particular.

EDIT: OMG my internet went out when I tried to send this post, and I was about to be very pissed with my school, but apparently my new laptop saves what I've typed even when the page crashes. Thankfully!

Edited by Messup434, 18/Sep/21, 6:30 pm


---
Keshi Heads
18/Sep/21, 6:29 pm Link to this post    PM Messup434
 


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